Hunter Biden won a major legal victory Friday after a federal judge ordered former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne to pay $1.7 million in punitive damages for spreading false allegations that linked Biden to a massive Iranian bribery scheme.

Byrne, who has repeatedly rejected Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over President Donald Trump, had accused Hunter Biden of participating in an $800 million bribery operation involving Iran. He failed to substantiate those claims during the court proceedings.

In a 25-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson of the Central District of California concluded that Byrne deliberately spread false information while showing blatant disregard for Hunter Biden’s legal rights. The judge also noted that Byrne continued promoting the allegations even after the lawsuit had been filed.

“Here, the evidence is clear and convincing that [Byrne] has engaged in intentional misrepresentation with conscious disregard towards [Hunter’s] rights,” Wilson wrote in his 25-page ruling.

The judge further stated that Byrne’s “defamation went far beyond mere negligence,” adding that Byrne had urged his followers on social media to circulate the false accusations and expand their reach.

Wilson, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, awarded Hunter Biden the symbolic $1 in compensatory damages he had requested, along with $1.7 million in punitive damages. The judge also directed Byrne to pay nearly $35,000 in previously ordered court sanctions within two weeks, warning that failure to comply would result in an additional $1,000 fine for each day the payment is overdue.

“This is a complete vindication for Hunter Biden against the false statements made about him by Patrick Byrne,” Bryan Sullivan, an attorney for Hunter, said in a statement. “As found by the court, Byrne had no basis to say that Hunter had any involvement with Iran whatsoever.”

The lawsuit centered on Byrne’s repeated assertions that Hunter Biden had sought an $800 million bribe from Iran in exchange for persuading his father, then serving as president, to release $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets and ease U.S. pressure during negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Hunter Biden consistently denied the accusations, arguing that Byrne knowingly republished fabricated claims despite having no evidence to support them.

{Matzav.com}